What Does ‘Modi Failed’ or ‘Kejriwal Failed’ Mean to people? The need to think without Bias

People come before a nation and by that I mean people all over the world because without people there is no Nation, there is no economy and there is nothing. Oh! yes there are many things, this world will flourish as a rich planet as we the people are the biggest consumers of natural resources for our whims and fancies and progress.

But as a human being it would be silly to say that the nonexistence of my own species is crucial to making this planet rich. Because I write this post for the progress we made over time. But when I see nationalism being talked as the most important thing I have to say that NO, People come before a nation and that means people all over the world.

Now let us talk about demonetization and try to look at two questions in that context. yes here from the Indian context 🙂

What does it mean to say ‘Modi Failed’
What does it mean to say ‘Kejriwal Failed’

If demonetization turns out to be a Blunder, many people who hailed Modi for his Master stroke will blame him but it would be too late by then. There will still be some folks who will blame not Modi but the common man for not cooperating. And also Blaming the opposition for sabotaging a sincere effort that would have made India great again (taking the phrase from Trump). Though for me there is no greatness in any pocket without equality all over the world.

If demonetization works out well for the people and helps in that fight against corruption, Even then there will be people in the opposition camp who will say Modi should not have done it and he could have done it in a better way. That’s our Indian Politics.

It is also worth noticing that Demonetization could be a big Gamble by Modi. But then what right does a Government or the PM have to take such a risky Gamble on the future of it’s people even if the intention is good. Or is it that the intention of the effort was clearly a political mileage for BJP and to feed a populist agenda by touching corruption that touches small timers but not the big Adanis and Ambanis. Only time will tell.

I am not a Modi Fan and had supported AAP during their campaigns and my support then was two fold.

One because they were part of an anti-corruption Crusade that really got an apolitical passive India on its heals and on the streets for a better tomorrow that impacts the masses.

Second in my opinion it was important to shake the political establishment once in a while with the power of the people to get things in order.

At the same time my worry was also that they might not fully understand how politics works and this would make it difficult in their crusade against corruption itself. We have seen that initially when people were trying to grapple with expectation and reality.

Recently I have been watching Arvind Kejriwal talk on this issue of demonetization and always felt he was not really thinking it through either. And Yesterday I read this article in Times of India “Arvind Kejriwal retweets misleading photo about man’s suicide ‘due to demonetization”. These kind of tweets show a lack of clarity in mind and an uncontrollable passion to make sure Modi fails. I have also seen Kejriwal being targeted by the Modi camp since he became the CM.

And I wonder what it means when we say ‘Modi Failed’ or ‘Kejriwal Failed’ ?

In the Present situation ‘Modi Failed’ means Demonetization Failed and that can happen in two ways. First through a roll back of the demonetization effort and second due to the failure of this gamble. Both cases the people stand to lose.

If you roll back then an effort to curb corruption failed and many black marketeers will see that as a victory

If the effort itself fails and spins the country to an economic slump then again people suffer

On Demonetization while there is an outcry on the way it was implemented no one has (as far as I know) told how it could have been done otherwise with no hardship for common man. I also read this view by Amit Varma on Economic Times Narendra Modi takes a great leap backwards. Mao would approve which says there is never a better option and every planning and method will fail here in this regard.

He ends the article with this “Even if implementation was perfect, this would be a historic blunder because social engineering never works, and carries moral costs because of its unintended consequences. When people have to queue up to withdraw their own money , on which limits are placed, it is an attack on property rights that is more out of the Communist handbook than any right-wing philosophy . ”

The fact is that the common man is being pulled from many sides; corruption, Anti-Modi Sentiments, Modi’s ususal trend to do Marketing push for a populist move and the media confusion. And the Common man is being turned into a donkey with many heads all having to nod to opposing priorities. It is really very sad.

I am no fan of Modi, but I would like people to do a realistic analysis of what it means to say ‘Modi Failed’. Because if Modi Fails on this demonetization effort then he will cease to exist as the superman. But that is about him what about the people? will they gain or will they lose. I do not think a congress alternative will ever make India free of corruption. Period….

Similarly I also want people to think realistically what it means to all the applause people give to hear ‘Kejriwal Failed’ because for me AK and AAP has been the symbol of Anti-corruption entering mainstream politics. I am surely unhappy in the way AK handled things. But for me AK was the shining light and it is important for AK and others in politics to join hands and fight corruption with the least impact on people. And that means AK’s victory should not be ‘Modi Failed’

It is very difficult to be rational when you are biased and I think we all and Modi, AK, BJP, AAP… all are biased. But as individuals we should go on that ‘not so easy path’ to break out of every kind of prejudices and rationally look at the issue. Because one thing I know many of us who write on Social Media or Media are not the real people effected. Not the ones who feel the brunt first but we are the people who have the time and luxury to write and support and crib. So we hold a very big responsibility to be rational, yes critical but not misleading. Period…..

I say this because when it comes to the fight against Corruption I will not be in the camp that rejoices a ‘Modi Failed’ Event or a ‘Kejriwal Failed’ Event.